


here

by tansypool



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: F/F, Fix-It, post-TCC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 17:57:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14502438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tansypool/pseuds/tansypool
Summary: "I'll always be here for you."A few stolen moments, as Jacquelyn realises something.A companion or a postscript to "the rope is cut and she falls".





	here

**Author's Note:**

> A companion to [the rope is cut and she falls](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14396709), though it'll probably make more sense if you read that first. Definitely prompted by [a prompt meme](http://splattermemes.tumblr.com/post/171808967700/protective-sentence-starters-part-2E).
> 
> Written for Gilly, because we're rowing this damned ship ourselves.

_I’ll always be here for you._

Jacquelyn waited, hours, listening to a crowd forming above, baying for blood, with tickets to a spectacle that nobody should witness. It feels like forever until it happens all at once, and she’s all but carrying Olivia, a trail of blood in their wake.

_I’ll always be here for you._

She doesn’t want to sleep, the first night, watching the soft rise of Olivia’s chest, the way her lips, her eyes, her whole face is no longer contorted in pain. She knows that Olivia will be fine, she’ll wake up hurting but she’ll wake up healing, and she will wake up, and something in Jacquelyn’s gut is telling her that she will be there, that she should be there.

_I’ll always be here for you._

Olivia’s unconscious murmurs are enough to wake Jacquelyn – she can’t make out words, isn’t sure they’re meant to be words, but Olivia isn’t waking. Jacquelyn rolls onto her side and reaches over, stops herself short – she doesn’t want to make the dream worse before Olivia wakes.

But Olivia’s eyes dart open, and it takes her a moment to relax, so when Jacquelyn reaches over, runs her fingers through her hair, she can feel the tension leaving the muscles in Olivia’s neck, just slightly.

So she shifts herself closer, whispers, “Come here,” and lets Olivia settle in her arms, kisses her hair, holds her close. She feels her relax, she doesn’t want to let go.

_I’ll always be here for you._

He’s dead, he’s gone, they have the children safe and close. None of them know quite where they’re going from there – but they have time, and no looming threat of death, so they can be glad for that in that moment.

Jacquelyn is exhausted. She thinks that a part of her is relying on Olivia to hold her upright – and the smell of her hair, the touch of her hands, the taste of her lips, they’re making her dizzy.

She doesn’t leave Olivia’s side that night, doesn’t want to ever again.

_I’ll always be here for you._

It’s the first night Jacquelyn has spent in her own home in more time than she would like to think about, and she swears that even the thought is making her more tired, making her want to sleep for far too long.

She told Olivia to stay, “for as long as you need,” but she doesn’t want her to go. She’s never felt more at home in that flat than when she stepped out of the shower, and found Olivia making tea.

It feels like an unwelcome flashback to before when she wakes in the middle of the night to an empty bed, and she finds Olivia sat in the living room, staring out of a window at the lights of the city.

Olivia doesn’t notice her until Jacquelyn sits down next to her, close enough for Olivia to lean into her, though she doesn’t look away from the lights in the distance.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“I couldn’t get back to sleep.”

Jacquelyn can feel Olivia ready herself to say something more, but she doesn’t, not quite yet. So she wraps her arms around Olivia’s stomach from behind, pulls her against her chest, rests her chin against Olivia’s shoulder. And she takes a deep breath.

“I love you, and I’ll always be here for you. Whatever happens next, I’ll be here, and I’m not letting you face any of it alone.”

Olivia doesn’t say anything, but she rests her head against Jacquelyn’s, grasps her arms closer against her. It’s with the gentle brush of her thumb and the twinkle of far-off lights in her eyes that Olivia then whispers, “I love you too.”


End file.
